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Monday, April 6, 2015

Three rescheduled events from the annual Film and Media Studies symposiumwill take place on Thursday, April 9, on the Lawrenceville campus.

This years symposium, which was originally held on March 4 and 5, served as amini-course on film and TV animation. The event included student workshops,faculty lectures and screenings of popular and experimental animation. Asnowstorm precluded the absence of some presenters, who will finally get thechance to share their knowledge with the Rider community at two separateevents.

At 11:30 a.m. in Sweigart Auditorium, Dr. Chrystina Dolyniuk, an associateprofessor in the Department of Psychology, will present Three A's: Autism,Animation, & Affinity. Dolyniuks presentation will focus on the autismcommunitys interest in animation, which was spurred by the publication of Life,Animated, Ron Suskinds 2014 memoir of raising a son with autism.

Many parents of children with autism notice that their offspring have an affinityfor animated movies, Dolyniuk says, explaining that the strong visuals,appealing music and predictable plots all draw the interest of these children.

Suskind, a political journalist with a Pulitzer Prize on his shelf, uses Disneymovies to connect to his son Owen, bring him out of his shell and help himdevelop. The results, as he tells it, are remarkable, but specialists split on howwise, and effective, such a treatment actually is.

In her talk, Dolyniuk, a clinically trained autism expert who believes inevidence-based treatment, will address the controversy during April, NationalAutism Awareness Month. There is no evidence that watching movies will cureautism, she says. There is no cure, and watching the same movies over andover again may actually be detrimental to kids with autism. However, it iscertainly worth exploring the possibility that some preferences and interests in this case animated films could enhance the delivery of proven effectivemethods.

Later the same day, at 6:30 p.m. in Fine Arts 110, Danielle Riseley 12, whomajored in English with a concentration in cinema studies at Rider, will give apresentation on animation history and her personal interest in animation. Shesnow pursuing a second bachelors, in animation, at the Savannah College of Artand Design (SCAD) in Atlanta, Ga. During her talk, she plans to skip the well-known milestones of Walt Disney and instead focus on other landmarks of thefield, especially in experimental animation, which is her focus at SCAD.

Disney is synonymous with animation, but theres so much more, says Riseley,who plans to pursue a career in production after she graduates in the fall.

A third event, a debate and discussion about the 2013 Disney smash Frozen andfeminism, will take place 12:15 to 1:05 p.m. in Sweigart Auditorium. BriannaGallagher, communication studies major, and Jennifer Ligeti, English cinemastudies major, will lead the discussion.

Dr. Cindy Lucia, director of film and media studies at Rider, organized thesymposium with the help of Dr. Thomas Simonet, acting director of FMS thissemester. Held each March and now in its sixth year, the annual filmsymposium has examined different genres, directors and social forces that affect

ONE OF THE EVENTS WILL DISCUSS FEMINISM AND THE DISNEY MOVIE "FROZEN."

| www.rider.edu

Rescheduled animation symposium events include talk on autismand animationDr. Chrystina Dolyniuk will address the controversy of using animated movies as therapyWRITTEN BY: ADAM GRYBOWSKI

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Cathy Gallagher

the movies. Last years symposium focused on the connection between theaterand Hollywood. Students showed a strong interest in this years topic ofanimation.

Some of their favorite films are animated, Simonet says. The symposium ismeant to get students thinking along the lines of criticism and history ofanimation.

The symposium is also meant to help build a film culture on campus, thoughthis years symposium was notable for extending its reach into television. Dr.Jerry Rife, music professor and chair of Riders Fine Arts Department, examinedthe music of Carl Stalling for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in atalk called Kill Da Wabbit! and Dr. Barry Janes from the Department ofCommunication/Journalism presented on the history of TV animation throughthe decades.

For more information, contact Dr. Thomas Simonet at simonet@rider.edu.

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